The Life of a Hogwarts Slytherin
by ScottishSilence
Summary: What would your life look like if you were a typical Slytherin at Hogwarts? This is a second person narrative portraying the story, your story, of a Slytherin at Hogwarts. It follows the love story of you (under the name of Zenobia Blackwood) and Draco Malfoy.


**First Year:**

You slowly made your way to the train that would take you to the infamous school you were destined to go to: Hogwarts. You stopped and took a moment to take in the scenery. People were bustling noisily about. Parents embraced their children before they boarded the train and conductors closely monitored the passengers and made sure they got onto the train on time. The train itself was red and sleek, with a sign on the front reading "Hogwarts Express." The area was quite loud and certainly much busier than you had imagined. Your mind was racing with scenarios of the year to come. What if you didn't get into a good house? What if you ended up in Hufflepuff? You couldn't stomach the thought of being put into Hufflepuff. Your parents were forever obsessing over maintaining your perfect, pureblood, Slytherin bloodline. It would be bad enough if you got into Ravenclaw or Gryffindor, but getting into Hufflepuff would surely leave you shunned by your entire family. Even just the thought made you want to cower away from those around you, as anything that constitutes failure in your families scares you to no end. Your thoughts were interrupted when your brother, Elijah, was tugging at your arm saying "Come on, Zen, we'll miss the train!" You shook your head and tried not to think of negative outcomes. You turned to your parents who were standing on the platform waiting to say their goodbyes. "Make us proud, Zenobia. Remember what it means to be a Blackwood," your father said to you. You looked to your left where other children who looked to be about your age were saying goodbyes to their families. You couldn't help but be jealous of the words of encouragement that they were receiving as the pressure brought onto you from your own family felt as if it might crush you. You snap out of your thoughts and give a slight, half-hearted smile to both of your parents before boarding the train. As soon as you and your brother boarded the train, Elijah, who was already on his sixth year at Hogwarts, abandoned you to sit with his friends, while you stood in the center isle, contemplating your next move. You walked along the seemingly endless hallway, peeking into each room to see if you could find an empty one. Normally you would have no problems finding a seat with strangers, but you were rather nervous about the whole situation and also quite clueless, considering the fact that you came from a pureblood family. By the end of the hallway, you decided to try to sit with a lone boy with dark hair and a dark complexion.  
You walk into the small room and say, "Hello. Mind if I sit? All the other cars are full."  
He smiled and replied, "Not at all."  
You give a slight smile and place your belongings on the shelf above. You sit across from him and introduce yourself, "My name's Zenobia. Zenobia Blackwood." Then you stuck out your hand, almost awkwardly.  
"Nice to meet you Zenobia. My name's Blaise. Blaise Zabini," he said, mocking you jokingly. You roll your eyes playfully and reply, "Nice to meet you." There is a short, somewhat awkward silence. "So...I don't suppose you know how long it will be until we arrive, do you?" you start. "Not exactly. But I have heard that the scenery on the way there is incredible. You should try and relax, you're shaking a little," he replied knowingly. You held up your hands and noticed that you were indeed shaking slightly. "Oh, sorry. I'm just a little nervous I suppose. Ever since I watched my older brother go off to his first year at Hogwarts I've imagined what it must be like and what it would feel like to get into the perfect house. I always thought I knew myself well enough to know what house I would be in. Slytherin of course is where I want to be and feel like I should be. Now I'm just hoping I know myself enough to be right," you explained. "Yeah. I know what you mean. Although, I suggest that instead of being nervous you be excited. This is an exciting! Hogwarts is supposed to be the best seven years of your life!" Blaise exclaimed. "Yes, you're right…" You decided to leave out the part where your parents torment you for now and enjoyed the rest of the train ride making small talk. You arrive at Hogwarts shortly.

When it is time to exit the train, you start to feel butterflies. The pressure of the opening ceremony comes back to haunt you. You just know your parents would be incredibly angry if you were to not make it into Slytherin like most of your family. You try to forget it and walk out of the room with Blaise following closely behind. As soon as you step outside, you notice that it was already dark. An enormous man with a big, bushy beard was standing at the front of the crowd with a large lantern held in his hand. "Listen up!" he exclaims, getting the audience's attention. "Welcome to Hogwarts, famous school of witchcraft and wizardry," he bellows. "My name is Hagrid, the school groundskeeper, and I'll be showin' you the way to Hogwarts." Ah, yes. Hagrid. Elijah had mentioned him many times before. He then extends his arm towards a dirt path and the group of first years slowly start to make their way down it, with Hagrid in the lead. Eventually you make it to a tall, iron gate with a short, grumpy-looking goblin standing behind it. He and Hagrid converse, but only for a short moment. Then suddenly the gate swings open. On the other side there are what looks to be horse drawn carriages, but with no horses attached to them. You are instructed to board the carriages. You follow Blaise, since he seems to know what to do. As soon as the maximum amount of people are boarded onto the carriage, it lurches forward and begins to move towards Hogwarts. You almost forgot about the carriages that seemingly pull themselves that Elijah told you about. The ride is uneventful and you arrive at the castle, a large, elegant stone structure. You walk through the front doors and climb some stairs to find an older-looking woman wearing a green robe and a pointy, black hat standing at the top. Although she does not say anything, the first years remain silent, bringing an eerie silence to the otherwise cheerful setting. "Welcome, students," she began, "I am Professor Mcgonagall. Through the doors behind me lie the Great Hall, where you will be sorted into your houses. The houses are Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin." A boy with platinum hair smirks behind you at the word 'Slytherin'. He seemed confident that this was the house he would be sorted into. You wished you could borrow some of that confidence. You cross your fingers in hopes that you will make it into Slytherin just like Elijah and your parents. "Students will be rewarded for good behavior with house points, however, points will be deducted for any misconduct." She continues, "Please follow me." she then pushes open the massive wooden doors that separate the students from surely the most important ceremony of their lives. There was an abundance of candle light, which made the room shine with elegance. They walk into a spacious room, with four long tables lined up vertically in front of you. Seated at these tables were the rest of the Hogwarts students. There must have been a thousand pair of eyes staring at you as you walked in the room. This made you a bit uncomfortable, but you continued nonetheless. At the very front of the room there was a gold podium with another long table lined up opposite from the rest. This is where the teachers and Dumbledore were sitting. In front of the podium a wooden stool was placed, with an old, worn hat sitting next to it. You remembered what your brother had told you. The hat was what determined their fate.  
Dumbledore stood up and walked to stand behind the podium. He quieted down the chatter emitted from the other students and made a few announcements before turning it over to Mcgonagall. She picked up a long piece of parchment that had all of your names written on it. The first name was called. You instantly felt nervous at the somewhat short temper of the hat. Blaise stood beside you and tried to ease some of your anxiety.  
"Don't worry too much. It won't be so bad once you get up there," he whispers confidently.  
You smile at him appreciatively. Then you hear the name 'Draco Malfoy' being called. You look up and see the boy with platinum hair walk up to the stage, very confidently. "So he's a Malfoy. That figures," you think to yourself. The hat ceases to touch his head before yelling "Slytherin!" Draco smiles and walks off the stage to the Slytherin table, where he is welcomed by the other Slytherins excitedly. After Draco, the name 'Harry Potter' is announced. Wait, THE Harry Potter? You were a bit surprised to hear the Potter name. He gets into Gryffindor, naturally. Blaise is called after. He was sorted into Slytherin, which did make you feel a little better. After what feels like an eternity, your name is called. A wave of fear and anxiety takes over you as you somewhat shakily make your way up the steps and lower yourself onto the stool. Mcgonagall carefully places the hat on your head. You close your eyes and anxiously await the hat's deep voice telling you what house you will be in. You hear it mumble for a bit, when suddenly the hat shouted "Slytherin!"  
A wave of relief went through you as the hat was lifted off your head and you made your way to the Slytherin table and sat next to Blaise. The rest of the ceremony went by smoothly and soon it was time for bed.

Your first day of classes was uneventful. You found that you had many classes with Draco, such as Potions, Charms, and Defense Against the Dark Arts with stuttering Quirrell, whom you and Draco admittedly enjoyed making fun of. After Potions one day Draco walks up to you.  
"I don't think I caught your name. Mine's Draco."  
"Yes, so I've heard. I'm Zenobia."  
"As in, Blackwood? I've heard of your family. Quite the prestigious background you have." "Yes, that is something I get a lot. You have a prestigious background yourself." "Yes, well the name Malfoy leaves little room for mediocracy. Same with you, it would seem." Of course. Even a person such as Draco Malfoy would have to bring up the pressure created by your family name that was eating you up inside. You then remembered what Blaise said about enjoying your time at Hogwarts rather than letting pressure overtake you.  
"Believe what you want. I'm not going to let people control my image with something as stupid as my last name," you insinuated, maybe a bit too harshly. "Look, I'm not trying to be rude or start trouble. I just thought it was something we had in common." He paused for a moment then said "Well, I guess I'll see you around, Zenobia." He then gave you a smile and left you standing in the middle of the busy hallway. "Yeah. See you later," you muttered to yourself as you watched him walk down the hallway. You do a mental face palm at your awkwardness and start to wonder if you came off as too defensive or rude. You shake your head at yourself and make your way to your next class.

Most nights you find yourself having trouble sleeping. Eventually you stop tossing and turning and decide to go down to the common room to sit by the fire and think. You go to find Draco already there sitting on the couch.  
"Hey Draco. Fancy seeing you here," you say almost sarcastically. He turns and looks at you.  
"Yes I suppose it is," he replies, mocking you.  
You give a slight chuckle and sit on the floor, leaning up against the couch.  
"Can't sleep?" Draco asks,  
"No. It's so quiet here. I guess I'm just not used to it." "I know what you mean. That was my first thought." There is a long silence. You remember your conversation from earlier and feel the need to make sure Draco knows you aren't a stuck-up snob.  
"So, about earlier. I'm sorry if I came off as rude or defensive. I just feel like I have been forced to fit a certain mold my whole life and I just finally feel that this is a time when I can just let loose and be myself."  
"Don't worry about it. I didn't think that at all. I get it. My parents do the same thing. It gets kind of exhausting sometimes, you know?" You nod your head understandingly. "Yes. I have to admit, having a last name with a prestigious connotation attached to it is starting to get to me," you sigh. "Try not to worry about it too much. I've found that just forgetting about it and doing your own thing seems to work out," Draco suggested. You smile appreciatively and a comfortable silence takes over.

Throughout your time at Hogwarts you make other friends, however, one of your best friends is Cho Chang. Although Draco, Blaise, and yourself are close, it is nice to have a girl friend to talk to. You overlook the fact that she is a Ravenclaw, which Elijah warns you could be trouble if your parents found out. You like having her around since she seems to know facts about everything and gives great advice.

The weeks go by fast and soon there's snow on the ground. Winter is your favorite season so you're more than excited to see autumn disappear. This, of course, means that the quidditch season is in full swing. You and Cho go to watch the Slytherin vs Gryffindor match in the afternoon. You and Cho get to the stadium a little early and wait for the match to start. "I really hope Potter can manage to keep the ball out of his mouth this time," you joke. "Yeah, well I just hope he manages to stay on his broom and that he won't try to kill himself this time," she replies softly. You swear she says that like she cares for him. The match goes by quickly, with Gryffindor taking the win, of course. You being the competitive person you are, were pretty disappointed. But you soon get over it and manage to enjoy the rest of your day spending time with Cho and Blaise, taking a walk through the woods.

One night you were skipping class again in the bathroom. You somehow manage to fall asleep and don't wake up until after dark. Once you fully wake up, you venture out of the bathroom and into the hall. It's already supper time, so everyone is in the Great Hall. You go down the hallway towards the Great Hall when you hear a loud stomping noise. You stop to listen. You can hear that it is getting closer. You quicken your pace around the corner and almost run into a giant troll. The troll is at least ten feet tall and an ugly green color. It holds a club twice the size of you in its hand. At first you freeze, not sure what to do. When it starts to advance towards you, you turn and run the opposite way. You run around a corner and see an open door that leads to Mcgonagall's classroom. You go through it and run to the end of the room to hide under a table. The troll follows you into the room and starts smashing all the desks and chairs to look for you. In your panicked state you reach into your robe for your wand. Your hand touches nothing and you remember that you left your wand on your desk, which was now most likely smashed into a million pieces. You hold your head in your hands and wait for a miracle. Just when you think that you are about to be discovered you hear a loud voice exclaim "Hey, over here!" You peek over the desk to see Draco and Cho standing in the doorway, holding out their wands. The troll advances towards them when Cho uses the wingardium leviosa spell to take away its club, just before it was about to crush them both. She makes it levitate above its head for a moment before letting it drop, knocking the troll out. Cho runs to you and helps you up, embracing you as soon as you stand. She puts a hand on your shoulder and scolds you.  
"Zenobia, where have you been? You could have been killed!" You smile sheepishly and explain.  
"I was skipping transfiguration. It bores me to death practically."  
"Yeah, well you could have been actually dead. You should know better than to skip class," Cho tells you.  
"Yeah, next time you want to skip, let me know and I'll follow," Draco chimes, starting to calm down a little and gaining a bit of his humor back. "Or how about we don't skip at all," Cho asserted. "Says the straight-A, goody two shoes Ravenclaw," you tease. You then all go back to the Great Hall, where Snape was waiting to lecture you. Cho, of course, got the brunt of it, since she wasn't in Slytherin, while you and Draco got off with a warning.

The rest of the year flies by. Oddball Professor Quirrell ended up being a slave to Voldemort, which you can't help but not be surprised by. He was always a bit off. Harry Potter, of course, saves the day and defeats Voldemort for the time being. This somehow allows Gryffindor to beat Slytherin for the House Cup, with many last minute points given to them by Dumbledore. Personally, you felt as though the points that put them in first place were given out of favoritism, not because they necessarily deserved it.

You and Cho walk to the train together and embrace while saying your goodbyes. You exchange brief partings with Blaise and give a wave off to Draco. All in all you are very much looking forward to your upcoming years at Hogwarts.

 **Second Year:**

You and Elijah sprint through the train station and quickly find the opening for Platform Nine and Three-Quarters, almost running into a woman and her son, who looked to be a first year. Elijah, apologizing quickly, continued to run towards the train, leaving you behind stuck in the crowd. "Elijah, wait!" you yell, attempting to gain his attention. It was his fault you were running late. He eventually realizes you were not behind him and stops. He turns around and waves his hand frantically at you. You glare at him, then push your way through the crowd as quickly as you can, catching up to him moments later. You both miraculously end up making it on the train before it leaves. You were sure to let Eljiah know how displeased you were, but in the midst of your tiresome lecture, you feel someone hug you from behind. You turn around and find a smiling Cho. You hug her again and forget all about your morning adventures. You both converse excitedly about your summer events while walking down the aisle to find open seats.

You arrive to Hogwarts and are escorted into the Great Hall. You quickly find Draco and sit beside him. He smiles at you then says, "Hey, Zenobia. How are you?" "Much better now that I'm here!" you answered. "Well that's good. Hey are you going to try out for quidditch this year? I'm sure my father could get you on the team if you wanted," he offered. "Yeah, quidditch isn't exactly my thing. I do love to watch, though," you reply. "Oh, well that's good. I think I'll try out for seeker again. Maybe this time I won't let Potter beat me to it, now that he can't catch it with his mouth," he retorted. "Yes, your fellow Slytherins would really appreciate that," you laugh. Watching other first years nervously be sorted into their houses made you glad to be in your second year. At least now you weren't the youngest at Hogwarts. The ceremony is over after what feels like a lifetime and then it was time to go to your common rooms.

You and Draco find yourselves in Defense Against the Dark Arts class with the new teacher, Professor Lockhart. Most of the girls in the room swoon as he enters the room, with a few exceptions such as yourself. With his shortsighted appearance, you couldn't understand why they were so crazy for him. Sure he was good-looking, but almost to the point of trying too hard. As they continue to swoon, you look around the room with a bewildered look on your face. Draco, along with all the other boys in the room, have the same look on their faces. Draco makes a disgusted face at you, which made you laugh to yourself. The sight of Hermione Granger with the same look of endearment as all the other girls in her eyes made you chuckle a bit to yourself. As soon as this man opened his mouth you could tell that he didn't have a clue. Well, at least this would give you an excuse to doze off during class. Most of your time was spent passing notes back and forth with Draco and Blaise as Lockhart rambled on about his adventures and fame instead of teaching you actual magic.

A few days later, you convinced Cho to go with you to watch tryouts for quidditch, mainly because you wanted to watch Draco, since you had never really noticed him on the team the year before. You both sat on the bleachers and watched the players on their brooms race back and forth. Slytherin and Gryffindor were having their tryouts at the same time. Cho was definitely spending most of her time staring at the seeker in the red uniform. You knew she had a thing for Potter.  
"Potter huh," you say, breaking the silence.  
"What? No, I don't even know him!" Cho responds nervously. "Mm Hm. Well I think you should go talk to him," you insisted.  
"N-no. I don't think so. We should go. Tryouts are practically over," she says before abruptly getting up and walking down the bleachers. You shake your head before looking down at Draco and giving him a friendly smile and a thumbs up. He winks at you before you walk out behind Cho.

Later in the week, you were walking back to your common room after supper with Blaise. You were both discussing your Defense Against the Dark Arts assignment, which made no sense since Lockhart was virtually useless. When you turn around the corner you see a crowd gathered around something hanging on the wall. You get closer and find Filch's cat, Mrs. Norris. You cover your mouth in shock. She was stiff as a board, hanging upside down from her tail. Blaise also lets out a slight gasp. Mcgonagall, Snape, and an angry Filch walk up to the crowd and try to shoo them away.  
"Back to your dormitories, all of you." Mcgonagall orders.  
"Someone killed my cat! It was Potter. He was here first. It had to have been you!" Filch exclaims, pointing a bony finger straight at Harry. Harry shakes his head and tries to convince Filch that he was not behind the murder of Mrs. Norris.  
"That's quite enough. To bed, immediately," Snape snapped. Everyone quickly disperses and heads back to their common rooms. Blaise tugs at your arm and pulls you away, since you can't seem to take your eyes off of the petrified Mrs. Norris. When you get back to the Slytherin common room, Draco is waiting for you. "There you are! Are you okay? Did you hear about Filch's cat? Do you know what happened to her?" he asks.  
"Yes, I'm fine. I saw her! She wasn't moving and was hanging from the wall by her tail," you replied. "Wow. What do you think happened to her? I can't imagine a student wanting to hurt Mrs. Norris," he says thoughtfully.  
"I don't know. The whole situation is rather odd," you mumble.  
"I just hope that whatever it is, it doesn't continue attack," Blaise adds.

Throughout the next couple of weeks, more attacks are reported. Only now students were being targeted. Strict curfews had been put in place. You hadn't seen Cho in a couple of days, since students were not allowed to be anywhere but their common rooms and dormitories without a teacher escort. You and Draco continue to have your nightly discussions. Most of the time it consists of you both sitting next to each other in silence until you fall asleep.

A week later Ginny Weasley is reported missing. This is the first disappearance that has happened so far. Usually students are found petrified, but not missing. Everyone is restless. Being under strict lockdown takes its toll on all of you. You, Draco, and Blaise decide to try and sneak out to go for a walk outside. You hadn't been outside in what seems like forever. That night, you manage to sneak out of your room and meet up with the boys. The three of you quietly make your way down the hall and out the door. You all laugh in relief as you walk down the dirt path that wraps around the castle. "Ah, it feels so good to be outside," you sigh as you walk. "Yeah, I just hope that whatever is angry enough to petrify all the students doesn't live outside the castle where we would run into it," Blaise worries.  
"Oh, don't be such a worrier, we'll be fine," you reply.  
"Yeah, I've never known the great Blaise Zabini to be a coward," Draco taunts playfully.  
"Whatever. All I'm saying is we should probably be careful," Blaise mutters. You had been out for an hour by the time the three of you head back into the castle. You peak around each corner before moving quickly through each hallway. You were almost to the hallway that leads to your common room door when you hear footsteps and a low grumbling. Filch. You all look at each other, terror in your eyes. You all run as fast as you can without making too much noise. In the process of escaping Filch, you all become separated. You slow down when you know for sure that you had lost Filch. You walk briskly towards your common room when you hear water splashing. You look down and see that there is a decent amount of water covering the floor. You continue to keep your eyes down at the water until you see a pair of big, yellow eyes staring back at you. Then everything goes black.

You slowly open your eyes to find that you are in a hospital bed. You blink until your vision focuses enough to see Draco sleeping in a chair next to your bed. You tap his shoulder lightly, which doesn't seem to be enough to wake him, so you push him so hard that he falls onto the floor. He shot awake and was back on his feet in less than a second. After he sees you staring at him, obviously holding back a laugh, he exclaims "Zenobia! Thank God you're alright!" before wrapping his arms around you tightly. You hug him back tightly and let out the laugh you were holding in. He rolls his eyes at you and says, "That wasn't funny. It actually really hurt." He rubbed his arm and pretended to be offended. You laugh before remembering your current situation.  
"So, what happened?" you asked him. He told you all about the basilisk and The Chamber of Secrets. After his long explanation he took in a deep, dramatic breath. You smiled at him. "Do you think I can leave now? I don't want to stay here any longer," you complained. He nods his head.  
"Yeah, let me help you," Draco helps you out of bed and you go to talk to Blaise and Cho. They hug you and tell you how happy they are that you're alright. Elijah then walks in the room with a look of relief on his face.  
"Zen, what were you thinking? You could have died!" he says before pulling you into a brief hug. You roll your eyes and say, "Yes, but I didn't! I'm fine, see?"  
"Maybe this time. Next time you might not get so lucky. Promise me you won't do anything like that ever again," he demands. "Alright, mother, I won't." you reply sarcastically, receiving a chuckle from him.

You walk with Draco, Blaise, and Cho to the train station. You can't believe your second year is already over. Time seems to be passing by so quickly. You hug all of your friends goodbye and board the train home.

 **Third Year:**

You wake up early on September 1st in order to get ready to go to Hogwarts. You walk down the stairs of your rather large house to have breakfast with your parents and Elijah. There is an odd, awkward silence that takes over. Your parents seemed very angry about something. You noticed that Elijah was not there. You decide to stay out of it, being afraid to ask about Elijah's absence, and try get through the rest of the meal with minimal conversation. Your parents break the silence to interrogate you relentlessly about Elijah's whereabouts.  
"I swear I don't know where he is! I thought you knew where he was!" you exclaim, becoming anxious about his absence. "I find that very hard to believe. He must have told you something. Tell me where he is or you will just have to stay home from Hogwarts until we find him," your mother shouted at you. You found your parents' hostility rather odd. "I promise he did not say anything to me. I'm going to be late for the train. I have to go," you say quickly before they could protest.

You quickly arrive at the train station and board the train. You immediately find Cho and sit with her. You were telling her about your morning fiasco when the train stops suddenly. "What's going on? We can't be there yet," Cho says, just before the lights flicker off. You hear gasps from throughout the train. The temperature then seems to drop immensely. You start to shiver when a dark shadow slowly creeps past the outside of your door. An intense feeling of sadness takes over you. You start to relive many of your sad, past memories. The door opens abruptly and you jump at the sound. Draco walks in with a worried look on his face.  
"Are you alright?" he asks. The sad feeling slowly starts to wear off just before the lights turn back on. "Yes, I'm alright. What happened?" Draco shuts the door and sits beside you. "I heard someone say dementor. I think one of them found their way onto the train," Draco explains. "What? Why are there dementors here? Aren't they supposed to be guarding Azkaban?" you ask.  
"Well, usually yes. Didn't you hear about the man who escaped? I believe his name was Sirius Black," Draco responds. "No, I haven't! How did something like that happen?" you wonder.  
"I don't know, it happened not too long ago. Some say he's after Harry Potter,"  
"Potter? Why would he want to go after Harry Potter?" "I'm not sure. I'm just glad you are safe." You smile at him and he stays with you the rest of the way to Hogwarts.  
At the opening ceremony, you see that there is yet another Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. You suppose that no one could be worse than Lockhart, who at this point still couldn't remember his own name after Ron Weasley erased his memory. Hagrid has also assumed the position of the Care of Magical Creatures teacher. After the boring ceremony, you, Draco, and Blaise head to your common room. "Great. The big oaf is now teaching classes," Draco mutters beside you as the three of you walk to the Slytherin common room. "Yeah, I suppose they don't really have very strict requirements as to who can be a teacher," you chuckle. "He's the best one for the job. He practically gets a new pet every week, since Dumbledore is always taking them away. I guess he's the only one that can get away with breaking the rules around here without getting fired," Blaise says.  
"Hey, stop picking on Hagrid. You should feel lucky to have him as a professor," Harry retorts. You didn't know he and his gang were behind you. "Whatever you say, Potter. I just assumed you had to have some form of education to be a professor at Hogwarts," you taunt. You could see that Harry was visibly irritated and Hermione looked like she was about to punch someone. You loved the reaction you were getting out of him and Hermione. "Listen here-" Harry started before he was interrupted by Ron. "Don't bother. They're not worth it," Ron tells Harry. You and your friends can't help but laugh as they walk away in exasperation. "I swear, if it wasn't for Hufflepuff, Gryffindor would get the award for 'Most Easily Offended,'" Draco snickered. You and Blaise laugh alongside him.

That night you have your usual insomnia and walk down the steps to the common room where Draco is already sitting in front of the fire. You sneak up behind him and scare him. He lets out an embarrassingly girlish scream and says, "What was that for?" while breathing heavily and clutching his chest. "Fun," you say sweetly before sitting next to him and rubbing his shoulder to mock him. He rolls his eyes at you playfully and jokingly smacks your hand off of his shoulder. This makes both of you laugh.  
"So how was your summer?" he asks, still smiling.  
"It was fine up until the end," you mutter, the air around you becoming less cheerful. A look of concern spreads throughout his face.  
"Want to tell me about it?" he offers before scooting closer to you on the couch and giving you his full attention.  
"It's just that it was my brother's last year at Hogwarts last year, and he's made plans to marry a girl. He sent me a letter to explain the entire situation this morning. His fiancee's name is Ellen. She's sounds lovely although I haven't met her. But my parents don't approve because she's a Gryffindor and a half-blood. They are convinced that if we don't keep our family pureblooded that the world is going to end. To them it's bad enough that she's a Gryffindor, but the fact that she isn't pureblood makes everything so much worse. The point being, I heard them talking about the situation before I left for school. It sounds like they are going to do something really bad. I'm worried that they're going to do something to hurt my brother and/or Ellen. They're crazy enough. I couldn't send him an owl without my parents finding out, so now I'm worried that I'm going to wake up one day to find that something terrible has happened to both of them," you explain while wiping your eyes. Draco takes his arm and places it around your shoulders, pulling you closer to him. You wrap your arms around his torso and bury your head into his side.  
"Hey, it's going to be alright. If you want, you can send him one of my owls. I will help you make sure that nothing happens to your brother," he says, rubbing your shoulder gently with his hand.  
"Thank you so much, Draco. That really means a lot to me," you reply.  
"No problem. If you ever need anything, just ask. I'm always here for you," he whispers softly before moving his hand up to your head and holding it against his side. You close your eyes and stay there until you fall asleep.  
You, Cho, and Draco are in Care of Magical Creatures class with Hagrid, which of course has to be in the middle of the woods. You receive your books. They make noises and have teeth that snap at you.  
"Ugh, I can't get this thing open!" you complain, fiddling with your book.  
"Consider yourself lucky. Mine keeps trying to bite me every time I do get it open!" Draco huffed as he dropped his squirming book on the ground.  
"As if reading wasn't already painful enough!" you replied while laughing at the struggling Draco. Cho just watched you both struggle as she seemed to have no problem with her book. Hagrid gets everyone's attention and begins to explain what you will be learning about for the day. He then calls out to what you think he referred to as a hippogriff. "Buckbeak!" Hagrid calls out into the forest, "Buckbeak, come eer, ye bloody chicken!" Then out comes this large, beautiful half bird half horse creature. It looks at all of you with its razor sharp eyes as it walks up to Hagrid and he feeds it what looks to be a ferret. Dead silence takes over the group.  
"Alright, now I'm gonna need ye to pick a volunteer. Go un now," Hagrid prods. You all back away until Harry is the only one standing in the front. "Alright Harry! Come a bit closer. There ya go," Hagrid continues to give Harry instructions. You watch as Harry bows low, with the creature copying his movements. Harry then walks up the bird and strokes its beak. Everyone starts clapping and cheering for him, including you and Cho. Draco stands behind you with a displeased look on his face. "Well done Harry! Well done!" Hagrid exclaims before suddenly picking Harry up and placing him on top of Buckbeak. He shoos the creature away and he begins running at great pace. Then you see him start to fly. He flies up and disappears behind the trees. Everyone gasps and looks around for him. It has been a couple of minutes before you see him flying over the water and making his way back into the trees. You watch in wonder as he lands and comes to a stop while Hagrid helps him off. You are actually a bit impressed with the situation and want to try yourself. Hagrid praises Harry a bit more before you feel Draco push past you and start to approach the creature, without doing anything that Hagrid had previously told Harry to do. "Draco, wait!" you told him. But it was too late. Buckbeak is already visibly irritated and starting to rear up a little on his hind legs.  
"Malfoy, stop! Yer gonna get hurt!" Hagrid asserted.  
"I don't see what the big deal is. It's not like it's difficult. Come here you bloody-" Draco starts before Buckbeak rears up and strikes Draco on the arm with his talons. Draco falls to the ground and yells out in pain. You close your eyes and shake your head. Hagrid throws another ferret away from Draco in order to get Buckbeak to leave him alone. Hagrid walks up to Draco to examine him. "He's killed me. He's killed me," Draco repeats, being his usual dramatic self. Hagrid picks him up and carries him back to the castle. "No one move! I'll be right back," Hagrid directed. "Well that was stupid. I don't feel a bit sorry for him," you mutter to Cho.  
"Yeah, I don't really either," Cho responds.

You walk into the Great Hall the next morning to see Draco surrounded by two girls, with his left arm bandaged and put into a sling. You can hear him retelling the events of the other day, of course in great exaggeration. You walk up to him and his new friends.  
"So, how's your arm feeling?" you ask with a sarcastic tone.  
"Fine now. Although, I think Hagrid should be dismissed for such irresponsibility. I've already notified my father about the incident," Draco announced.  
"You want to talk about irresponsibility? How about the part where you deliberately did not follow the rules Hagrid had in place for your safety, simply because you were jealous of Harry? When will you learn to take responsibility for your actions?" you retort, becoming angry with him. The girls by his sides looked at him before glaring at you. You stare at them right back with fire in your eyes. "How about you mind your own business and go play with your Gryffindor friend," he snaps while glaring at Harry, who's sitting at the Gryffindor table behind you. He, Hermione, and Ron are staring at you, hearing the racket you're causing. You laugh bitterly and shake your head.  
"I don't know what's gotten into you, but it needs to stop before you lose the only friends you have," you countered.  
"Fine. Maybe then you will realize that you have nothing left, since your own family is destroying itself," he says. You gasp and can feel tears welling up in your eyes. He realized what he had done and says, "No, wait. Zenobia I-" You don't bother to hear the rest of it. You run out of the room and down the hall until you find a secluded corner to sit in and sob with your head in your hands. You hear frantic footsteps getting closer to where you are hiding. You try to muffle your sobs, but it's no use.  
"Zenobia! Zenobia is that you?" Great. It's Draco.  
"Zenobia, there you are!" Draco says and immediately sits next to you.  
"What do you want?" you snap. "I'm so, so sorry for what I said. I messed up big time. I'm such an idiot," he says. You lift your head up to reveal your tear streaked face and red eyes. He sees how badly he hurt you and pulls you to his side. You fight it at first, but soon give in as the tears come back and you continue sobbing. "Hey, shhh. I'm so sorry I hurt you. I will never, ever do it again. Please stop crying," he pleads, hugging you tighter. "I didn't mean what I said. I promised I would help protect your brother and I meant it. We can send him a letter tonight, or now if you want to," You lift your head up and look into his eyes. You can't seem to find your words, so you just nod. He pulls your head to his chest and places a kiss on top of it. You begin to calm down. "Alright, we can go to the common room and you can write the letter, okay?" he assured softly. "Okay lets go," you whisper. He helps you up and keeps an arm around your shoulder as you walk to the common room. You hide your face as people stare at you. Draco gives snide remarks to them as you pass by. You write the letter to warn Elijah and Ellen about your parents and send it using Draco's owl.

Professor Lupin, the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, decided it would be a great first lesson to mess with boggarts. You definitely did not want your worst fear on display in front of the entire class, so you stood in the very back of the line with Draco. Neither of you paid any attention whilst Lupin was explaining how to defend yourself against a boggart. Honestly, you couldn't understand what was so important about knowing how to destroy a boggart. It's not like it would harm you. You and Draco continue to stand in the back and dawdle when your hear yelling. Lupin had jumped in front of Harry to shield him from the boggart, which had turned into a very real-looking dementor. After Lupin jumped in front of Harry, the boggart began to change. It changed into the moon. "Professor Lupin's greatest fear was the moon? Talk about plot twist," you thought to yourself. After hesitating for a moment, he quickly says "Riddikulus" and the moon turns into a balloon, which is replaced back into the wardrobe it came from. Lupin pauses for a few seconds. "Class dismissed!" he announces. "That was odd," you told Draco after you had left the classroom.  
"Which part?" he asks, somewhat sarcastically.  
"All of it, really. But did you see the part where the boggart turned into the moon when Lupin stepped in front of Potter? Is his biggest fear really the moon?" you question.  
"I don't know. It must be if that's what the boggart took the shape of," Draco guessed. "It just seems really odd. What sensible person is afraid of the moon?" you wonder.  
"Well, a Hufflepuff maybe. Do you think Lupin was in Hufflepuff?" Draco jests. You can't help but smile at his jab at Hufflepuff. "Are you playing tonight?" you ask, referring to the quidditch match between Slytherin and Ravenclaw. "Um, no." he says while pointing at his injured arm. "Oh, right. Sorry," you laugh. "It's alright, I deserve it," he says, attempting to joke, although it's obvious he's referring to a couple days before. You put your hand on his shoulder and give him a look that says "I forgive you." He puts his hand on yours and smiles.

You find yourself in the last, and most painful, class of the day, Divination. Trelawney is going on about some mumbo jumbo as usual. At this time, she is going around the room looking in each person's tea cup to "read the tea leaves." You find this to be the most idiotic, pointless thing that ever existed.  
"Ugh, I swear Trelawney just gets crazier every year," you whisper to Cho.  
"Yeah, I guess," Cho whispers back, obviously paying way more attention than you. You sigh and try not to die of boredom. You hear Trelawney gasp and jump back from Harry's cup. "You have...the grim," she stutters. You roll your eyes as she explains that it's meaning is death. Everyone else seemed visibly upset by this while all you could do was shake your head and rub your face with your hands.

Throughout the next couple of days, several accounts of Sirius Black sneaking into the castle have been reported. You are worried Dumbledore will want to send you all home. They are also not allowing the sending and receiving of owls, so if Elijah tries to contact you, you won't receive it. This causes you to worry endlessly. One day, Cho walks up to you frantically. "Zen, did you hear about Professor Lupin?" She asks.  
"What? No, what happened?" you urged.  
"He's leaving! Last night Harry, Hermione, and Ron found out that he is a werewolf! And also that Peter Pettigrew was behind the death of the Potters, and that Sirius Black is innocent!" she exclaims, all very quickly.  
"Woah, slow down. Sirius Black is innocent? Peter Pettigrew is here? Voldemort isn't back is he?" you respond.  
"No I don't think you-know-who is back," Cho responds.  
"It just seems to be one thing after another here, doesn't it?" you say.  
"Yes, it does," Cho mutters.

You walk with Draco to the train station. You get there early, so you decide to wait for Cho and Blaise. You are both sitting on the ground against a wall. You sigh and lean your head back against it. "This summer will be interesting," you uttered. "Hey, try not to worry too much. I'm sure your brother and Ellen received your letter and are taking necessary precautions," he replied softly before placing an arm over your shoulders. You close your eyes and lean into him. "Yeah, I hope so," you whisper.  
"Please write to me over the summer. I want to make sure you'll be okay," he said. "I'm sure I'll be fine. I will still write to you, if it makes you feel better," you tease. "I would love that, thank you," he remarks, using that goofy voice he knows always makes you laugh. You both stand as Cho and Blaise run up to the train.  
"Been waiting all day for you. Where have you been?" you tease.  
"Oh, you know, just getting into some trouble," Cho jests.  
"Woah, who are you and what have you done with Cho?" you laugh. You hug her and say goodbye, promising to write to her. You do the same with Blaise. They both disappear and you're left with Draco.  
"Thanks for all your help this year with..you know. Family issues," you remarked. "No problem. I'm still making up for a lot. Please let me know if there's anything else I can do," he replied. You smile before walking up to him and wrapping your arms around his neck. He places his arms around your waist and pulls you closer. You smile and stay there for a couple seconds before breaking apart and waving goodbye.

 **Fourth Year:**

This year is special. It is the year that the Quidditch World Cup and the Triwizard Tournament is going to be at Hogwarts. You felt that you did a decent job avoiding your parents throughout the summer, spending much of your time in your room writing letters to your friends. You get to the World Cup and find Blaise. You exchange greetings and find a place to sit. The tournament is exciting and you enjoyed every minute of it. Afterwards, you both head outside towards the tent area when you hear a horrible screaming. Death Eaters are everywhere, attacking the camp. Blaise grabs your arm and runs to hide. After you're sure that the Death Eaters are gone, you walk back out to see all of the tents destroyed and turned to ashes. "Why would they do something like this?" you ask.  
"I'm not sure. I think we should get out of here before they decide to come back," Blaise replies.

You both arrive at Hogwarts a day later, late to the opening ceremony. You quickly go to the Slytherin table and sit down. Dumbledore announces the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, Mad-Eye Moody. He was just as quirky as ever. You started to think that having Lockhart back wouldn't be such a bad thing. The rest of the ceremony drug on until it was finally time for bed. You see Draco in the hall and run up to hug him.

In Defense Against the Dark Arts, you learn that Moody is, in fact, crazy. His awful temper paired with the angry glint he always seems to have in his eye supports this. One day in class, Moody decides to teach you the three unforgivable curses. You imagine that he'll simply write stuff on a chalkboard and tell you to remember it, but he pulls out his wand and a large bug. He demonstrates each curse on the bug, with many protests from your classmates. Although you're glad to finally have a teacher who will teach you something actually useful, this does seem like it's going a bit far. You wonder if Dumbledore knows about his teaching methods. Weeks later, the delegates from other school arrive for the Triwizard Tournament. Dumbledore then explains the rules of entering. Of course when he mentions that you must be 18, everyone under 18 loudly complained. On Halloween night, the goblet spits out the names of those who will compete. Cedric Diggory is the first name called. Then Fleur Delacour, Viktor Krum, and Harry Potter. How is it that Potter is always able to break the rules somehow? You look to Cho, who's sitting beside you. "How is that possible? Do you think he asked someone to put his name in the goblet for him?" you ask. Cho shakes her head.  
"No. Look at him. He seems just as surprised as we are," You nod your head, but inwardly still have doubts. You assume that since Harry is not 18, Dumbledore will exempt him from the tournament altogether. Dumbledore announces him to be the second Hogwarts champion along with Cedric Diggory. The whole school thinks that Harry had someone put his name in the goblet of fire in order to compete. No matter his efforts to try to tell people that he had no idea, no one believes him apart from Hermione and Cho. The first task is quickly approaching, seeming to make Harry very nervous. Trouble really does seem to follow that boy around.

A day before the first task, Cho runs up to you. "Zen, I just found out what the first task is!" she exclaims, seemingly nervous.  
"Ooh, really? What is it?" you say rather excitedly.  
"Dragons. The competitors will be required to fight dragons." she blurted.  
"Nice! That will be fun to watch." you reply, not exactly catching onto Cho's anxiety about the predicament.  
"No, you don't understand. Harry is going to get eaten alive," She huffs.  
"Oh. Well I guess that's what he gets for putting his name in the goblet?" you surmise. "No, you and I both know that he had nothing to do with that," she shames you.  
"I guess. I really don't know what to do about it. Hope for the best, I suppose," you murmur, quickly getting bored with the subject.  
"I'm going to tell him. He's going to need help," she says quickly before running off. "Okay..." you say to yourself as she runs off.

The first task comes quickly and you and Draco walk to the stadium where the tournament takes place. You find a place to sit and anxiously await for the tournament to start. The first three competitors make it through just fine, each collecting the required golden egg from the dragon. Then you see Harry walk out. He looks absolutely terrified. He shakily walks out and climbs down the rocks. The dragon shows itself from behind a giant boulder and lets out a screech. Of course this is one of the dragons that has the ability to breath fire, so it continues to try to cremate harry. You hear him yell a charm, "Accio Firebolt!" and his Firebolt broom speeds in shortly after. He jumps on it and starts to fly around the dragon. At some point, the dragon manages to break loose from the chain it was attached to, and chases Harry out of the stadium and over the trees, out of sight. "Where did he go?" you ask in amazement. "I don't know, but that dragon is going to annihilate him," Draco responds. A few minutes later you see him pop out over the trees and speed back to the stadium, the dragon nowhere in sight. He lands and grabs the egg and holds it in the air while the crowd cheers for him. "I really didn't think he was going to make it this far," you state while walking back to the castle.  
"Honestly, I didn't even think the poor lunkhead would even show up," Draco retorts. In transfiguration class, instead of actually, you know, learning, Mcgonagall decides to turn it into a dance session for the Yule Ball. She hopelessly tries to teach all of you how to 'properly dance' so that you don't "make a fool of yourself". She calls Ron Weasley up to be her dance partner when doing her demonstration. He awkwardly walks up to her and places his hands in all the wrong places. She fixes his position, then starts to dance in a waltz. You laugh, perhaps a bit too loudly, when he continues to step on her feet.  
"Blackwood, unless you would like to demonstrate with Mr. Weasley here, I would suggest you keep quiet and pay attention," Mcgonagall asserted. "No, I'm fine," you reply quickly. She gestures for all of you to find a partner and join her and Ron. You are about to walk across the room to Draco when Oliver Wood walks up to you. "Hey, Blackwood was it?" he asks you.  
"Yes, Zenobia," you reply.  
"I don't think we've met properly. Oliver Wood," he holds out his hand for you. You take it and he shakes it softly. "Would you like to dance with me?" he asks while holding out his hand and giving you a charming smile.  
"Um, okay, sure," you answered and took his hand. You looked behind him and saw an irritated looking Draco looking back at you. You give him a look that says "sorry." Oliver pulls you to him holding one of your hands and placing the other around your waist. You look at him in confusion. "I'm sorry I haven't talked to you sooner. You just always seem to be hanging around Malfoy. Him and me don't get along. You know how that family is," he states. "Actually I don't. Why don't you tell me 'how that family is,'" you shoot back, maybe a little too defensively. "Look, you don't want to be hanging around him. You are going to get hurt. Please let me help you," You pull away from him and step back. "I'm perfectly capable of taking care of myself, thank you," and with that you walk away to look around the room for Draco. He's nowhere to be found. Class ends shortly after that somewhat awkward exchange, and you go out to look for Draco. You look for over an hour, but without success. At the end of the day, the time when everyone is asleep but you, you find him in the common room in his usual spot. "There you are! I've looked for you everywhere!" you exclaim. "I'm a bit surprised you noticed my absence," he mumbled bitterly. "Hey, what's wrong. Why are you acting like this?" you ask, walking up closer to him.  
"Look, if it had been Blaise or anyone else, it wouldn't be a big deal. But Oliver Wood? Him and his family have been nothing but trouble. If he was talking to you, it wasn't because he likes you," he replies with concern in his eyes. You sit down next to him.  
"Yeah, I was able to figure that one out on my own. He told me I shouldn't be around you because you would hurt me," you murmur. "Figures. Listen, I know I don't have a perfect record with you, but please believe me when I say that I will never hurt you. I will make sure no one ever does," he promises, touching his hand to your face. You smile and whisper, "I know," before cuddling up next to him with your arms wrapped around each other. You soon fall asleep. The next day Cho runs up to you, with something obviously exciting to announce. "Zen, guess what?" she urges. "What is it?"  
"Cedric asked me to go to the Yule Ball with him!" she exclaims. "Wow, that's great!" you reply, genuinely excited for her. "Thanks! I'm sure that someone will ask you soon. You know, a certain someone with bleach blond hair," she teases. You roll your eyes at her.  
"Yeah, if we do go together, it will be because we're friends. It's not like an actual date," you try to convince her. Or maybe you're trying to convince yourself? You don't really know. "Sure, whatever. You have to help me pick out my dress. I'll help with yours if you want, too," she offers. "No one has even asked me yet," you laugh, "but I would be honored to help with yours," you jest. She beams at you and grabs your hand to drag you away to plan.

You were sitting on the couch in front of the fire in your common room, reading the list that Cho gave you. "Wow, you're actually reading?" Draco teased. You turn your head and see him standing at the doorway. You smile and say, "Yeah, Cho insisted that I read this book before the ball. It's basically just a list of things you should and shouldn't do," you say, sounding rather bored. "Oh, so you've been asked?" he asks, failing to hide his disappointment.  
"Yes, he's a prince in shining armor. He rode in on his white horse and got down on one knee and asked me to go with him," you respond, very sarcastically. "Wow, sounds enchanting," he laughs and sits next to you. "Yes. Cho thinks I need to be entirely prepared for when someone asks me. She's convinced someone will," you mutter. "Um, yeah, about that..." he starts, rubbing the back of his nervously, "I was going to ask you if you wanted to go with me." "I would really like that," you reply. His face lights up completely. "Great!" he then sits next to you and you both continue to make fun of the list Cho gave you.

On the day of the Yule Ball you still didn't have a dress, so Cho took you out to get one. You settle on a long, emerald green dress with silver trim that touches the floor. She insists that it gives you the Slytherin flare without being too gaudy. You both are ready by the time the ball starts and quickly make your way to the ballroom. Cho disappears to be with Cedric, since she has to walk in with him since he's one of the Triwizard champions. You walk down the stairs and find Draco. He stops and stares at you as you walk up to him. "You look...stunning," he says, breathlessly. You blush and reply "Not bad yourself," He holds out his arm for you to take. You walk to the rest of the crowd and watch the champions with their dates walk out and take the first dance. After a few minutes, the rest of you start to dance. You dance with Draco for a while. You spent much of the time talking and making fun of Weasley, who seems to be having a rough night with his date. After a few hours, Draco asks, "Do you want to go outside and take a walk?" "Yeah, that sounds nice," you respond smiling. You both walk outside in the cold, winter air. You find a place to stop and look outside the castle into the distance, where dementors can be seen floating around in the night sky. "That's odd. I thought dementors weren't supposed to leave Azkaban, much less venture out all the way to Hogwarts," you say to Draco.  
"Yeah, well you saw what happened on the train. They're coming nearer and nearer," he states.  
"Hopefully they won't ever make it here...that would just be another thing to deal with," you sigh.  
"Hey, what's on your mind?" he asks, sounding a bit concerned.  
"My parents are becoming more insistent that my brother come home. He's gone into hiding and I haven't heard from him for a while. I hope he's alright," you respond. "I'm sure he's found a safe place to hide and is simply waiting for the right time to contact you. Everything is going to be fine," he affirms before placing his arm around your shoulders. You smile in appreciation. He smiles back at you and stares into your eyes longingly. You can feel the butterflies in your stomach as he gets closer to you. His face just inches from yours when you hear a scream. You both snap out of your trance and look to see a girl laying on the ground with a dementor giving her its deathly kiss. You gasp before looking to Draco.  
"What should we do?" you ask, terrified.  
"I don't know! Get help maybe?" he surmises. Just as you both are about to go get help, another dementor swarms around the girl like a buzzard to a dead rabbit. "I don't think there's time for that!" you exclaim. Just as you were about to run down the stairs to help her, you see none other than Harry Potter race out of the castle to her side and call out the patronus charm. The dementors quickly dispersed and Mcgonagall hastened out with Snape to help. Draco pulls your arm to get you back inside. Dumbledore did not mention the attack until the next day. He advised all students to go nowhere alone and put a curfew in place.

A day later the next task is announced. Everyone goes down to the lake to watch the second task. You wait for Cho but she never shows up. You find this odd. You watch as each of the champions returns out of the lake with someone special to each of them. Cedric returns with Cho. Well, that would explain her absence. After the second task, you walk with Cho back to the castle. The last task is the most exciting. Each contestant enters into a dark maze, where the end holds the Triwizard champion trophy. The champions are in the maze for a while, which no one found out of the ordinary. After a few hours, Harry returns to the stadium with the trophy, of course. You and the rest of the crowd soon realize something has gone terribly wrong. Harry is sobbing and clutching something underneath him. You then realize that Cedric is lying underneath Harry, dead. Your hand immediately goes to your mouth as you realize what has happened. The rest of the crowd has also figured it out. You look beside you, but Cho is no longer there. You look for her, but can't find her in the chaos of the crowd. You eventually just stand there in shock, not really sure what to do or say. Draco finds you and pulls you against him. You say nothing. A few weeks later there is still a sense of sadness spread throughout the school. Thankfully the term is now over. Dumbledore tells everyone that it was none other than Voldemort who brutally murdered Cedric Diggory. This upsets the majority of students. After his depressing speech, everyone heads down to the train station. Cho does not meet you, Blaise, and Draco at the train station. You make a mental note to write her a letter to make sure she is alright. You and Blaise exchange your goodbyes, then Draco walks up to you. He pulls you into a tight hug, with his arms around your waist and yours around his neck. He breathes you in before letting go and taking hold of your hands. "Please don't forget to write to me. Stay strong and let me know if there's anything you need," he urged. You gave a slight smile and nodded your head.  
"I won't forget. Thank you," you answered. You gave him one last brief hug before departing onto the train.

 **Fifth Year:**

You scarcely make it to the train station on time. Your parents held you up bombarding you with questions about your brother and where he was. He hadn't sent you a single letter all summer. This worried you more than anything. As far as your parents went, they had you pretty much on lock down. They read every letter that was sent to you before you did, and insisted on reading whatever you wrote before you were able to send it. This, of course, was a major annoyance to you. Your letters were more brief than they otherwise would have been without your parents hovering over you every second. You couldn't wait to finally get away from them and go to school. At least there you could have some freedom. You make it to the Great Hall in the nick of time. You scan the room for Draco and Blaise, finding them walking in late. You say hello to both of them, hugging them briefly. You all sit down together and wait for Dumbledore to begin his mind-numbing speech. He arrives on stage and begins his usual announcements. He then introduces a new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. It was a somewhat older-looking woman, dressed in pink from head to toe. In her dark, beady eyes you could see that she had an arrogant smirk on her face as Dumbledore introduced her as Dolores Umbridge. She interrupted him, just as he was about to move on, to give a speech of her own. She lectures all of us about the importance of our studies, with the rest of it having a seemingly ominous meaning. You could all tell that she was going to be much worse than any of your previous Defense Against the Dark Arts teachers. After the ceremony it was off to bed for classes the following day.  
Umbridge proved to be as terrible as you could have imagined. She proceeded to give you textbooks which looked as if they belonged to a ten year old. You were not to practice magic of any kind. She refused to teach magic of any kind, rather, it was mindless things such as writing a sentence ten times or simply her lecturing you all about how magic is dangerous and should not be permitted. Throughout the weeks new rules were quickly being made by Umbridge. All of them posted on the wall just outside the Great Hall, almost completely covering it. She always claimed that she had the authority to surpass Dumbledore, since she was apart of the Ministry of Magic. This, of course, was absurd. Her intimidation did take its toll on everyone, so much so that Dumbledore resigned as headmaster, leaving Umbridge to take his place. So much for freedom.  
One day, Cho told you about a group Harry, Hermione, and Ron were wanting to start.  
"They're having a meeting today to figure out the details. You really should come. It would benefit all of us," Cho explains.  
"Okay, I'll be there. I'm sick of everything being micromanaged, with Dumbledore gone and all," you respond. Really you just wanted in on any opportunity to revolt against Umbridge. You were attempting to sneak out to go learn about this new group when you heard a voice behind you say your name. It startled you.  
"Oh! Draco, it's just you," you gasp, relieved.  
"Yeah, it is. Where are you off to?" he asks.  
"Um, well...Harry is starting a group where we can properly learn how to defend ourselves and I was going to go learn more about it," you expounded. "Well why didn't you tell me about it? If there's any opportunity for a revolution, I want in," he responds. "You could come with me," you propose. "Okay, let's go," he says, leading the way out the door.  
You both walk down to the Hog's Head without being caught by Umbridge. You arrive to find many Gryffindors and Ravenclaws there, with few Hufflepuffs and Slytherins. Harry explains why they are starting the group, what it is you were going to learn, and other miscellaneous information. A sign up list made its way around the room. You promptly signed your name and with some encouragement, Draco followed. You walked back to the castle. You could hear Harry attempting to come up with a place where they could meet without Umbridge finding out. You were sure to keep your eyes open. A few days later you and Cho stumbled upon the Room of Requirement. This is where Dumbledore's Army would meet.  
Although the Room of Requirement was secluded and safe enough, getting there was still rather tricky. Umbridge had her cronies on the lookout for anything suspicious. The lessons really paid off. Now you felt as though you'd last more than two seconds if ever necessary. Your favorite spell was the patronus charm. You loved seeing each person's patronus fly around the room, some mingling with others. Yours was a majestic hippogriff, like Buckbeak. You were really getting the hang of it when you heard a loud banging noise against the wall. Everyone stops what they're doing to listen. It happens again and the room starts to shake. Then something bursts through the wall, rubble flying everywhere. Once the dust cleared, you saw Umbridge and her entire band of servants. She scowled at you, then brought you all to her office for intense questioning. You walk out of her office with reasonably painful scars across your hand and arm. You tried to hide it from Draco, but failed.  
"What is that on your hand?" He asks you. You pull your robes over it to try and hide what Umbridge did to you, but he pulled it out and to his face.  
"Did she do this to you today?" He fumed.  
"Um yeah. Everyone is being questioned. They want to find out who started the group and who all was involved. I refused to give her anything. She has quite a temper, you know," you reply.  
"Yeah and so do I," He retorts before angrily walking towards her office, where a long line of students were already placed. "No, Draco, don't! You will be punished too. Maybe even worse than this. Please don't, it really isn't worth it., you plead.  
"Don't tell me you're not worth it. I was willing to put up with this crazy nonsense before, but she's crossed the line," he scoffed. You pull him towards you once more.  
"Please don't, I'm begging you. She's capable of much worse than this," you remind him. "Alright, but next time I'm not thinking twice about going up there and letting the pink devil have it," he sighs. "Thank you," you reply.  
You soon find out that Cho was the one who told Umbridge about Dumbledore's Army. You felt betrayed and just decided to avoid her for the time being.

The next few weeks were almost unbearable. Between Umbridge in complete control and Dumbledore nowhere to be found, your days were becoming more micromanaged, with every minute planned out for you. You hadn't seen Blaise or Draco in weeks, since boys and girls were not allowed to mingle at all. You couldn't send a letter to anyone, since those were also checked and changed as Umbridge saw fit. This was beginning to remind you of home, which was not a good thing.  
Harry, of course, did eventually sort out the whole Umbridge issue with the help of Dumbledore, who finally came out of hiding. Dumbledore confirmed that Voldemort was, in fact, back and ready to continue his attempt to take over Hogwarts and eventually the whole wizarding world. You would need to proceed through the next few years with caution. You say your goodbyes to your friends, including Cho. You made amends with her after you found out that she was under the influence of a curse when she ratted all of you out to Umbridge. You dreaded going back home to your parents. Draco could sense your dread.  
"Hey try not to worry too much. Let me know if you need anything," he says while wrapping his arms around you. "Thank you, Draco. This summer is going to be rough. I'll miss you," you whispered as you held him tighter. He pulled away and held your face in his hands. "I know you can't exactly blatantly tell me what you need in a letter. We can figure out a way for us to keep in contact. Hold your head high. You're strong enough for this," he assures you. He kisses your forehead gently before you walk to the train. You turn to give him a smile and a wave before boarding it to go back home.

 **Sixth Year:**

This summer was worse than the last. Your parents hardly let you leave your room and you were unable to send or receive letters. They were becoming more and more angry at the disappearance of Elijah and frankly you felt that they were taking it out on you. They knew that you had been in contact with him since he left, but you denied it. You were afraid they wouldn't let you go to school at all this year. This was the worst thought that could possibly come to mind. Luckily they decided to let you go, although you worried they had ulterior motives. The first thing you did when you got to Hogwarts was look for Draco. You found Blaise at the Slytherin table as usual, but no Draco. You couldn't help but be worried, especially as the opening ceremony had begun over half an hour ago. "Blaise, have you seen Draco? He isn't usually this late," you ask.  
"Hm, no I don't think so. Don't worry too much. I'll bet he's just running a little late," Blaise assures you. You nod your head in understanding, although you still can't help but feel that something is wrong. Twenty minutes later he walks in. You feel relief flood through you, until you look into his eyes. He has dark circles surrounding his eyes, which have lost the light that was once in them. He didn't even look like the same person. He held his head low and didn't even look for you. He sat at the end of the table by himself. Blaise gave you a look that showed he was thinking the same thing you were. After the dinner you pushed through the crowd to talk to him. By the time you made it to where he was sitting, he was already gone. You hoped you would still see him that night in the common room, but he did not show up. In the first few weeks of school you still hadn't talked to Draco. It was like he was avoiding you on purpose. You talked to Cho about it.  
"I just don't understand. We used to spend every night together. Now it's like he's a ghost," you faltered.  
"He might have just had a rough summer. I'm sure he'll come out of it soon," Cho reassures you.  
"I guess. I can't help but feel like I did something wrong. I was not allowed by my parents to write to anyone over the summer. Do you think that could be it?" you asked. She shook her head.  
"No, he knows about how your parents are micromanaging your letters," she reminds you. "I know. I guess I just want to believe that he isn't mad at me for some reason," you sigh.  
"I'm sure that he isn't mad at you. You two are way too close for him to be ignoring you for something you don't even remember doing. It isn't anything you have said or done," she responds. "Okay. I just hope he comes around soon," you murmur. On the brighter side, at least you had a decent Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. Snape should have been appointed ages ago, in your opinion. You couldn't find the strength inside yourself to enjoy it, with the worry for Draco taking over your entire soul. As you were walking out of potions class one day, you spot Draco walking down the hall. You run to catch up with him, placing your hand on his shoulder. He flinches at the contact. You look into his eyes and see dark, lifeless orbs where joyful, bright jewels full of wonder once were. He hardly gives you a glance. Instead, he focuses his gaze on the floor. "Draco, please tell me what's wrong. I want to help. Please..." you pause, "I need you."  
"There isn't anything you can do," he whispers with regret in his voice. He pulls his hand from your grasp and walks away. You stand there stunned. You try to fight back the tears, but it was no use. You struggle to make it through yet another day without your best friend.

You seem to run into Draco more often, but he still avoids eye contact. You don't try to talk to him anymore. You only hope that he can find the strength to seek help from you. One day you were late walking to class when you run into him. You look up at him and your eyes meet his for the first time in several weeks. You could tell that he could see the sadness in yours, just as you could see it in his. He starts to say something, but he was cut off by the urge to cry. He pushes past you and walks quickly down the hall, loosening his tie in a panic. You follow him to find him at the end of the hall leaning against the window sill sobbing. You set your book on the floor and pull him into your arms. He couldn't find the strength to refuse the contact anymore. He pulled you to him even tighter while his sobs became more prominent. You bring your hand up to the back of his head and stroke his hair. "Shh it's alright," you tried to comfort him. After a couple of minutes his sounds of agony start to die down. He pulls away and looks down at you, with the most sadness you think you've ever seen in someone's face. You put your hands up to his face and wipe away the tears from his cheeks with your thumbs. Then you place your forehead against his while stroking his face gently. He places his hands around your waist and you both stand there in silence for a while. Eventually he pulls away from you. "I'm sorry. For everything. I-" you cut him off by placing your finger over his mouth. "It's okay, you don't have to tell me right now. You can wait until you're ready," you whisper. He takes your hand in his and pulls it away from his face softly.  
"Don't you understand? I can't tell you. I will never be able to tell you. I shouldn't even be talking to you right now," he asserted. "Why not? Not being able to talk to you the past couple of weeks has been torture," you professed, feeling tears of your own starting to appear on your face.  
"For that I am sorry, but I promise you this is for your own good. I'm doing this because I care about you," he responds softly, seeing that you were now visibly upset.  
"I don't understand. Is there something I've done?" you cry. He places a hand on your cheek.  
"Zen, there isn't anything you have done. I wish I could tell you everything," he laments. You place your hand over his for a moment before he pulls away gently and walks back down the hall, leaving you alone with your thoughts. You can't stop wondering what it is Draco can't tell you. You wonder if it has something to do with Voldemort, since he is supposedly coming after Dumbledore any day now. You walk down the stairs to the common room to sit in front of the fire, just like you do every night. You just reach the bottom step when you feel a hand pull you into the shadows. You gasp, holding in a yelp. You look beside you and see Draco with a finger over his mouth, gesturing for you to follow him. You sigh a breath of relief and follow him out of the commons room and down the hall to the room of requirement, which had been repaired from when Umbridge destroyed it. He shuts the door quietly behind you.  
"Here we can talk without being heard," he whispers.  
"Heard? Heard by who? What's going on with you?" you fretted. "Shh I promise I will try to explain. I didn't want to tell you before because we were being watched," he explains.  
"Okay. Go on," you urge.  
"Alright, well, I suppose I should start with this," he proceeded nervously. He pulls back his sleeve to reveal the dark mark sprawled across his arm. You gasp and place a hand over your mouth. "Please tell me that isn't real," you whimper.  
"Hey, it's alright. Please listen to me," he insisted while taking one of your hands and looking into your eyes. You hesitate, but eventually nod your head slowly. "It is real. But my parents have forced me into a situation that I can't find a way out of. Voldemort has us wrapped around his finger. I'm scared and I don't know what to do," he stammers. Your eyes soften.  
"What kinds of things does he want you to do?" you ask. He hesitates.  
"He wants me to...do terrible things for him. I really can't tell you what," he stutters out, his voice shaking in fear. Your eyes widen.  
"Please, you can't do his bidding for him," you proclaim. "I have to or he's going to kill my parents, my friends, you..." he explains. You look at him in shock, but still with a hint of understanding. "What exactly does he want you to do?" you question. "I won't tell you that. I can't let you try to stop me. This is something I have to do, though I'm not sure I can," he whispers. Shaking at the thought of being under the Dark Lord's control. You hug him tightly, enjoying the contact you've been missing for the past few weeks.

Draco still avoided you, though at least now you knew why. He refused to tell you any more about what Voldemort was planning on making him do. It worried you to think about the influence Voldemort was having on him as well as the toll it would eventually have. One day you were walking down a hallway, lost in your thoughts. You stopped suddenly to listen. You could hear voices coming from the watchtower, so you slowly walked up some stairs which led to an area underneath the watchtower. You look above and see death eaters surrounding Dumbledore. You were so absorbed in what was happening above that you run into a figure standing in front of you. Your hand immediately goes up to your mouth to hide whatever sound tried to come out of it. You see that it was Harry you had run into. He puts a finger up to his mouth and you nod your head in understanding. You then heard a familiar voice. It was Draco. "Don't you understand? I have to do this. I have to kill you...or he's going to kill me," you heard him stutter. You had never seen anyone so scared. His hand was shaking uncontrollably and you wanted nothing more than to help him. You were about to pull out your wand and do something when you felt another person behind you. You turn around and come face to face with Snape who places a finger over his mouth to signal you to be quiet. Good, he'll resolve the situation. He slowly walks up to the area where the death eaters and Draco are. Draco's hand continues to shake and just as he's about to lower his wand, Snape intervenes. You feel relieved that he's there to help, until he pulls out his wand and kills Dumbledore himself. You cover your mouth and hold back your shock. Harry, who was still standing behind you, was obviously refraining from running up there and attempting to take them all out. You run out of the watchtower and down the stairs. You end up in the Great Hall, still trying to process what you just witnessed. You heard voices and footsteps nearing the room, so you hide underneath a table. Bellatrix was the first to walk in. She was giddy with excitement at the passing of Dumbledore and smashes all of the windows in celebration. The rest of the death eaters follow her outside. You crawl out from under the table, sobbing. Draco runs up to you, with his own sorrow plastered on his face. "How could this happen? How could you get so tangled up in a situation like this?" you cried, feeling betrayed and that your trust was broken, even though deep down you knew that it wasn't his fault. "I don't know. I should have never let it get this bad. I knew my father was involved with dark things and I still never did anything," he replied. You back away and get back on your feet. Shaking your head you say, "I can't be involved with this. I can't do it-I just..." you were still sobbing and in major shock. He starts to walk towards you with an arm extended. It exposed his dark mark, which triggered mixed emotions of shock, anger, and sadness inside you. You back away, shaking your head, and run out of the room as fast and as far away as you can. Later that night, you come back to the castle where the remaining students stand around Dumbledore. One by one, everyone raises their lit up wands, in remembrance of their beloved headmaster.

 **Seventh Year:**

You knew that this was the year the big battle between Harry and Voldemort would happen. But since Dumbledore was dead and Snape was your new 'headmaster' for the time being, things were almost worse than with Umbridge. You were never to go anywhere besides your classrooms or common rooms. The classes were now split up by house. The Slytherin house received favoritism, since Snape was in charge of just about everything at this point. At the end of the day all students were to report to the Great Hall to determine if anyone had run away. You had considered it, but you knew that it would never work with the amount of security that had been in place. Many of the students' parents wanted to bring them home, but the death eaters made that impossible. Letters were neither received nor sent. There was no contact with any of your families, many of whom were not aware of the whole situation. You still hadn't seen Voldemort in person since the current situation.

One day, you were taken down to a large house along with Cho, Blaise, Luna Lovegood, and other students after a failed attempt at escaping, which Blaise had talked you all into. You were placed in a basement-like room, where none of you were sure why you were there. Your wands had been confiscated, so there was no way out. You hear a blood-curdling scream above and an insane laughter following it. Harry and Ron were thrown down the stairs and into the same room as the rest of you. It was Hermione who was being tortured for information above by Bellatrix. Harry and Ron desperately try to break down the iron door separating you from the staircase that led into the main entry area above. "It's no use. Believe me, we've already tried," you mumble.  
"We have to do something! We can't just let Hermione suffer!" Harry exclaims, still pulling at the door. You shake your head and back away. Just as he was about to give up, Dobby appears. Since he can teleport from place to place freely, he had fetched Harry's wand for him. Harry then breaks the door open and you all run up the stairs to help Hermione. Bellatrix had thrown Hermione down to the floor in frustration. Harry attempts to stun her, but she saw him coming. She stuns him instead. You then noticed Draco's father standing at the other end of the room. You then realized you were at Malfoy Manor. With the giant ceilings and the dark color scheme, it was hard to miss. Bellatrix continued to stun and go after Harry, laughing hysterically during the process. You felt helpless, as you still didn't have your wand since they were all confiscated by the Death Eaters at Hogwarts. Harry picks himself up off the floor and backs up against the wall, with the rest of you behind him. Bellatrix pulls out her dagger, presumably the one used to torture Hermione. Just before Bellatrix could throw the dagger, causing it to plunge into Harry's chest, Dobby whisks you away to a quiet island, where he took his last breath after taking the blow of the dagger for Harry.  
. You all found your way back to Hogwarts, where Harry agreed to meet Voldemort in the Forbidden Forest, where he would surely be killed. The rest of you stayed back at Hogwarts with Mcgonagall and the other teachers to prepare for the inevitable war. Your heart sank when Hagrid's large figure appeared through the fog, carrying Harry in his arms. This was it. Voldemort had won. The rest of the students gasped and stood in shock at the site in front of them. They were feeling the same hopelessness you were. Voldemort then appeared and demanded everyone bow before him or face the consequences. You all look at one another, considering the offer. Then you heard yelling. You looked back at Hagrid and Harry was no longer in his arms, lying lifelessly. Instead you caught a glimpse of him dashing into the shadows. He wasn't dead. Voldemort hadn't won yet. When you all refused to bow down to Voldemort, the death eaters advanced towards you all. There was the flashing of charms and curses all around you. You stood by your friends and tried to help in any way you could. You felt a hand on your shoulder. Just as you were about to send it's owner flying off the edge of the castle, you see that it was Draco. Even amidst the chaos, you embraced him tightly. It was brief, but enough to lift your spirits. He yelled something to you, but you could not hear, so he pulled you by the hand into the castle. "Look, you aren't going to be able to kill Voldemort yet," he said once you were in a more quiet place. "What do you mean 'yet'?" you ask. "I mean that there is still one horcrux that hasn't been destroyed," he conceded. "How are we going to find the last horcrux before he offs everyone here?" you exclaim, feeling hopeless.  
"It's here in the castle. His snake Nagini is the last horcrux," he explains. "How on Earth are we going to find a snake in the little time that we have?" "I saw where it was. Follow me," he gestured towards a staircase and you follow him up it. You get to the top and go to an outdoor area where you could see the snake. "How do we kill it?" you whisper.  
"It has to be killed with the Sword of Gryffindor," he states. He seems to have the situation under control, so you try not to ask any more questions. You lead the snake down the stairs and back to ground level where everyone else is. You run out the front door and try to keep ahead of the snake before it can entangle you in it's rather large fangs. You just dodge it's lunge when going out the door. It lands on the ground a few yards in front of your feet. Neville then runs up to it with a sword and cuts it's head off. The last horcrux had been destroyed, and now Harry could finish Voldemort off. The rest of the battle was brutal, and there were many killed with even more injured. Harry was able to destroy Voldemort for good, and most of the death eaters were silenced. Hogwarts could now be at peace for the first time since Harry came to Hogwarts. You walk through the destruction that was now Hogwarts. Much of the castle had been destroyed. It was almost unrecognizable. You hear a voice call your name. You turn around and see Draco running towards you. He pulls you towards him and kisses you passionately. Your arms immediately make their way around his neck and his around your waist. He pulls you closer while continuing to kiss you, your lips moving in perfect sync. You eventually pull away, out of breath. Your foreheads rest against one another, while smiling up at each other. "See? I told you I would protect you." he says softly. "Thank you." you whisper, pulling his lips to yours once more.

 **Epilogue:**

The castle was rebuilt with the help of all of the Hogwarts students. School was back in no time. You did not go back to live with your parents after your last year. Draco also left his parents and you both lived together. You were able to get back in contact with your brother. Elijah and Ellen got married and had a daughter named Ella. You eventually got married and had your own child, a son, named Tobias, who was eventually sorted into Slytherin to continue your pureblood, Slytherin bloodline. You become an Obliviator, while Draco becomes an Unspeakable.


End file.
